Sheet holder for stenographer&#39;s papers



P 1966 M. E. CRAIGHEAD ETAL 3,

SHEET HOLDER FOR STENOGRAPHERS PAPERS Filed July 6, 1965 INVENTORS MERLE E. CRA/GHEAD BY TA/WV/E C. CRA/GHEAD m A T TORNEYS United States Patent 3,272,183 SHEET HOLDER FOR STENOGRAPHERS PAPERS Merle E. Craighead and Tannie C. Craighead, both of 921 Missouri St., San Diego, Calif. 92109 Filed July 6, 1965, Ser. No. 469,663 1 Claim. (Cl. 120-28) The present invention relates to a holder to be used :for holding flexible material, such as a sheet, or sheets, of paper in an upright position.

The device of the present invention essentially comprises a base on which the material will rest, a means adapted to engage the lower edge of the material to prevent forward slippage of said edge, a back carried by the base and extending rearwardly, and, a means extending forwardly of the back to prevent the material from tipping forwardly.

Other features and the advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the holding device of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is an end view of the device shown in FIG. 1, looking in the direction of arrow 2 of FIG. 1.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, the base 11 comprises means for supporting the back 13 and the means 15 for engaging the lower edge of the material. In the preferred embodiment, the means for retaining the back 13 comprises a longitudinal groove 17 in the base 11, said groove being cut so as to form forward and rearward walls. These walls form the sole means for sup porting the back whereby the space immediately rearwardly of the back 13 is unobstructed. The groove is cut also in such a manner that there is an intimate fit between it and the extension 19 of the back 13. The groove is also sloped rearwardly to establish the desired slope for the back 13.

The means for engaging the lower edge of the material comprises an elongated member 15. The engaging surface 21 of the elongated member 15 is preferably located in the plane formed by an extension of the inner surface 25 of the forwardly retaining member 23.

The back element 13 and forwardly retaining element 23 are preferably formed from one sheet of material which may be either metal or plastic. An extension of the back is formed such that it projects back along and is disposed from the face of said back. Such forming gives a side retaining member 27 and the frontal retaining member 23. The material to be held will extend into the opening 29 and accordingly, will be restrained from movement in four directions.

Additional back members 31 may be added to afford means for conveniently maintaining sheets while they are not in position on the main back element 13.

From the above it will be apparent that the present invention provides a simple, inexpensive and eflfective means for holding flexible material in an upright position. The device can also be dismantled with ease in view of the interference fit element employed to maintain the back relative to the base and thus can readily be stored in a small space when not in use.

While the form of embodiment herein shown and described, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms may be adopted which fall within the scope of the claim that follows.

We claim:

A device for maintaining flexible sheets of paper in an upright position, said device comprising in combination:

(A) A base having a flat top, said base having:

(1) a pair of parallelly disposed grooves, one groove being disposed forwardly of the other, each of said grooves extending from the top downwardly and forwardly throughout substantially the entire "width of the base to form forward and rearward walls extending throughout substantially the entire width of the base;

(B) an upright and rearwardly extending back, said back extending into the forward groove and the walls of the forward groove forming the sole means for supporting the back, whereby the space immediately rearwardly of the back is unobstructed, said paper when resting against the back also resting on the base immediately forwardly of the back;

(C) means for preventing slippage forwardly of the paper when resting against the back, including:

(1) means on the flat top of the base and spaced forwardly of that portion of the top immediately above the base and adapted to engage the lower edge of the paper;

(2) and means formed integrally with the back and extending inwardly and forwardly along one upright side edge of the back;

(D) and a second back extending into the rear groove, the walls of the rear groove forming the sole means for supporting the second mentioned back.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 205,156 6/1878 Turner 28 X 801,897 10/1905 McNamara 12033 2,311,717 2/ 1943 Warren 120-28 2,347,730 5/1944 Black 120-33 LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner. 

